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Origins of Songs

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
He Keeps Me Singing

Luther B. Bridgers wrote this song in the early 1900's af­ter a tra­gic fire killed his wife and all three sons. He spoke of the grace of God that ministered to his soul in the quiet of the lonely nights. He thought his poem was slow and reflective, but later penned a melody that was uplifting and lilting.

There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,
In all of life’s ebb and flow.

Refrain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest Name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain,
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumbering chords again.

Feasting on the riches of His grace,
Resting ’neath His sheltering wing,
Always looking on His smiling face,
That is why I shout and sing.

Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,
See His footprints all the way.

Soon He’s coming back to welcome me,
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,
I shall reign with Him on high.
 

Eric B

Active Member
Site Supporter
Is "have thine own way, Lord", the same basic melody as "Blessed Assurance"? When I egan to learn a little about how to read music, I compared the two, and they are very much similar. (Though this one apparently has no refrain).
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
God, How Can We Comprehend

Carolyn W. Gillette, 1999. Pastor Gillette's heart was moved by the plight of refugees she witnessed on television. It was to be sung to support the relief efforts for those Afghan refugees.

In 1985, she earned her Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. She serves as co-pas­tor of the First Pres­by­ter­i­an Church, Pit­man, New Jer­sey. Her works in­clude a book on "New Hymns for the Church" and more than 70 hymns.

God, how can we comprehend—though we’ve seen them times before—
Lines of people without end fleeing danger, want, and war?
They seek safety anywhere, hoping for a welcome hand!
Can we know the pain they bear? Help us, Lord, to understand!

You put music in their souls; now they struggle to survive.
You gave each one gifts and goals; now they flee to stay alive.
God of outcasts, may we see how you value everyone,
For each homeless refugee is your daughter or your son.

Lord, your loving knows no bounds; you have conquered death for all.
May we hear beyond our towns to our distant neighbors’ call.
Spirit, may our love increase; may we reach to all your earth,
Till your whole world lives in peace; till we see each person’s worth.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
"Voice of Truth"

By Mark Hall and Steven Curtis Chapman. This was the first song ever written by Mark Hall. It's original name was "Fear". Mark is dislexic and didn't see how or why God would use him to write or sing music. When the events unfolded that eventually exposed Casting Crowns to the world, Steven Curtis Chapman helped him finish the song and changed the name to what it is now, "Voice of Truth".

If you have had the privilege of hearing this song sung in concert, you will or have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as Mark sings this song by himself, with only keyboards.

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
© 2003 Club Zoo Music / SWEC Music (Admin. by Club Zoo Music) / BMI / Sparrow Song / Peach Hill Songs (admin by EMI Christian Music Publishing) / BMI. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Fear Not, Little Flock

The hymn was written by King Gus­tav­us Adolph­us of Swe­den as an encouragement to both the spiritual flock and to his small army. Its words have dual meaning, claiming God's guidance in battle.

Gus­tav­us Adolp­hus’ troops sang this hymn on the morn­ing of the Bat­tle of Lütz­en (in the Thir­ty Years’ War), No­vem­ber 6, 1632. Later in that day, their King was killed in the battle.

Fear not, O little flock, the foe
Who madly seeks your overthrow;
Dread not his rage and power;
What though your courage sometimes faints?
His seeming triumph o’er God’s saints
Lasts but a little hour.

Fear not, be strong! your cause belongs
To Him Who can avenge your wrongs;
Leave all to Him, your Lord;
Though hidden yet from mortal eyes,
Salvation shall for you arise;
He girdeth on His sword!

As true as God’s own promise stands,
Not earth nor hell with all their bands
Against us shall prevail;
The Lord shall mock them from His throne;
God is with us; we are His own;
Our victory cannot fail!

Amen, Lord Jesus, grant our prayer!
Great Captain, now thine arm make bare;
Thy church with strength defend;
So shall thy saints and martyrs raise
A joyful chorus to Thy praise,
Through ages without end.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
The Day of Resurrection

John of Da­mas­cus (675-749) (Αναστασεως ημερα); trans­lat­ed from Greek to Eng­lish by John M. Neale, 1862.

Neale heard this song when visiting Greece and described how early Greek Christians sang this hymn:

As mid­night ap­proached, the arch­bi­shop, with his priests, ac­com­pa­nied by the king and queen, left the church and sta­tioned them­selves on the plat­form, which was raised con­sid­er­a­bly from the ground, so that they were dis­tinct­ly seen by the peo­ple. Ev­er­y­one now re­mained in breath­less ex­pec­ta­tion, hold­ing an un­light­ed ta­per in rea­di­ness when the glad mo­ment should ar­rive, while the priests still con­tin­ued mur­mur­ing their mel­an­cho­ly chant in a low half whis­per.

Sud­den­ly a single re­port of a can­non an­nounced that twelve o’clock had struck and that Eas­ter Day had be­gun; then the old arch­bi­shop, ele­vat­ing the cross, ex­claimed in a loud, ex­ult­ing tone, “Christ­os anes­te!” “Christ is ris­en!” and in­stant­ly ev­ery sin­gle in­di­vid­u­al of all that host took up the cry…At that same mo­ment the op­press­ive dark­ness was suc­ceed­ed by a blaze of light from thou­sands of tap­ers which…seemed to send streams of fire in all di­rect­ions.


The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad;
The Passover of gladness, the Passover of God.
From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky,
Our Christ hath brought us over, with hymns of victory.

Our hearts be pure from evil, that we may see aright
The Lord in rays eternal of resurrection light;
And listening to His accents, may hear, so calm and plain,
His own “All hail!” and, hearing, may raise the victor strain.

Now let the heavens be joyful! Let earth the song begin!
Let the round world keep triumph, and all that is therein!
Let all things seen and unseen their notes in gladness blend,
For Christ the Lord hath risen, our joy that hath no end.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
John Greenleaf Whit­ti­er published this poem in the At­lan­tic Month­ly, Ap­ril 1872.

It is a condensation of a long, nar­ra­tive poem, “The Brew­ing of So­ma.” It de­scribes Ve­dic priests go­ing in­to the for­est and drink­ing them­selves into a stu­por with a con­coct­ion called “soma.” They try to have a re­li­gious ex­per­i­ence and con­tact the spir­it world.

It is af­ter set­ting that scene that Whit­tier draws his les­son: “Dear Lord, and Fa­ther of man­kind, for­give our fool­ish ways…” This hymn is as rel­e­vant to­day as when it was writ­ten. In a mod­ern con­text, it speaks to the drug cul­ture and alcohol crazed society, and those look­ing for an “experience” to prove the re­al­i­ty of God.

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee,
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love!

With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Be Still, My Soul

Ka­tha­ri­na A. von Schle­gel wrote the words in 1752; in 1899 it was set to the haunting melody of the folk tune “Finlandia,” by Jean Si­bel­i­us.

This hymn was re­port­ed­ly the fav­or­ite of Er­ic Lid­dell, the ath­lete who be­came fa­mous in the 1924 Olym­pics for re­fus­ing to run on the Sab­bath (see the mo­vie Char­i­ots of Fire).

Lid­dell lat­er be­came a mis­sion­ary in Chi­na, and was im­pris­oned by the Japanese dur­ing World War II. He is said to have taught this hymn to his fellow prisoners in the pri­son camp (where he event­u­al­ly died).

[Personal: It is also one of my personal favorites as I struggle with a terminal illness.]

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, be leaving, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
All Hail to Thee, Immanuel

In 1910, D. R. Van Sick­le, a non­-be­liev­er, wrote the song to prove that one doesn’t have to be a Christ­ian to write a Christ­ian song!

How­ev­er, God, with His great love and pa­tience, turned the ta­bles on him. Years lat­er, Van Sickle was sit­ting in a church serv­ice where a choir sang his hymn. He came under con­vict­ion at that time, and gave his heart to Christ!

Music was added by the famous Charles H. Gab­ri­el in 1910. The re­frain can be a chall­enge to sing due to its speed and length, but the hymn works well even with­out a chor­us. Listen to it here: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/l/allhail2.htm

All hail to Thee, Immanuel, we cast our crowns before Thee;
Let every heart obey Thy will, and every voice adore Thee.
In praise to Thee, our Savior King, the vibrant chords of Heaven ring,
And echo back the mighty strain: All hail! All hail! All hail Immanuel!

Refrain
Hail to the King we love so well! Immanuel! Immanuel!
Hail to the King we love so well! Immanuel! Immanuel!
Glory and honor and majesty, wisdom and power be unto Thee,
Now and evermore!
Hail to the King we love so well! Immanuel! Immanuel!
Hail to the King we love so well! Immanuel! Immanuel!
King of kings and Lord of lords, all hail, Immanuel!

All hail to Thee, Immanuel, the ransomed hosts surround Thee;
And earthly monarchs clamor forth their sovereign King to crown Thee.
While those redeemed in ages gone, assembled round the great white throne,
Break forth into immortal song: All hail! All hail! All hail Immanuel!

All hail to Thee, Immanuel, our risen King and Savior!
Thy foes are vanquished, and Thou art omnipotent forever.
Death, sin and hell no longer reign, and Satan’s pow’r is burst in twain;
Eternal glory to Thy Name: All hail! All hail! All hail Immanuel!
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Jesus Paid It All

In 1865, Elvina M. Hall penned these words. John T. Grape's church was un­der­go­ing re­pairs, and the cab­i­net or­gan was placed in his care. Thus af­ford­ed a plea­sure not be­fore en­joyed, he de­light­ed my­self in play­ing over some of our Sun­day school hymns and composing some new tunes. This was called "All to Him" originally.

Ira Sankey shares this story about the song:

On New Year’s night, 1886, some mis­sion­ar­ies were hold­ing open-air serv­ic­es in or­der to att­ract pass­ers­-by to a near-by miss­ion, where meet­ings were to be held later. “All to Christ I Owe” was sung, and af­ter a gen­tle­man had giv­en a short ad­dress he hast­ened away to the miss­ion. He soon heard foot­steps close be­hind him and a young wo­man caught up with him and said:

“I heard you ad­dress­ing the open-air meet­ing just now; do you think, sir, that Je­sus could save a sin­ner like me?”

The gen­tle­man re­plied that there was no doubt about that, if she was anx­ious to be saved. She told him that she was a serv­ant girl, and had left her place that morn­ing after a dis­a­gree­ment with her mis­tress. As she had been wan­der­ing about the streets in the dark, won­der­ing where she was to spend the night, the sweet mel­o­dies of this hymn had at­tract­ed her, and she drew near and listened at­tent­ive­ly. As the dif­fer­ent vers­es were be­ing sung, she felt that the words sure­ly had some­thing to do with her. Through the whole serv­ice she seemed to hear what met her op­pressed soul’s need at that mo­ment. God’s Spir­it had showed her what a poor, sin­ful and wretch­ed crea­ture she was, and had led her to ask what she must do.

On hear­ing her ex­per­i­ence, the gen­tle­man took her back to the mis­sion and left her with the la­dies in charge. The young, way­ward woman was brought to Christ that night. A si­tu­a­tion was se­cured for her in a min­is­ter’s fam­i­ly. There she be­came ill and had to be tak­en to a hos­pi­tal. She ra­pid­ly failed and it became ev­i­dent that she would not be long on earth. One day the gen­tle­man whom she had met on New Year’s night was vis­it­ing her in the ward. Af­ter quot­ing a few suit­a­ble vers­es of Script­ure, he re­peat­ed her fa­vo­rite hymn, “All to Christ I owe” and she seemed over­whelmed with the thought of com­ing to glo­ry. Two hours af­ter­ward she passed away.

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died to my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Lead On, O King Eternal

Er­nest W. Shurt­leff wrote this hymn for the grad­u­a­tion cer­e­mo­ny at An­do­ver The­o­log­ic­al Sem­in­ary, where he was a mem­ber of the class of 1888. He wanted it to be a challenge to his classmates to the work of the ministry.

Shurtleff grad­u­at­ed from An­dover The­ological Sem­i­nary and was or­dained a Con­gre­ga­tion­al min­is­ter. He served in Ven­tura, Cal­i­for­nia and Min­ne­ap­o­lis, Min­ne­so­ta. He spent the last part of his ministry in Eu­rope, found­ing the Amer­i­can Church in Frank­furt-Main, Ger­ma­ny, in 1895, and work­ing at the Acad­emy Vit­ti in Par­is, where he died during World War I.
Lead on, O King eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home.
Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong;
And now, O King eternal,
We lift our battle song.

Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords’ loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
The heavenly kingdom comes.

Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Thy face appears.
Thy cross is lifted over us,
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Majesty

Jack Hayford grad­u­at­ed from L.I.F.E. Bi­ble Col­lege and Azu­sa Pa­ci­fic Un­i­ver­si­ty and began immediately as the na­tion­al youth di­rect­or of the In­ter­na­tion­al Church of the Four­square Gos­pel. In 1965, he joined the fa­cul­ty of L.I.F.E. Bi­ble Col­lege, and went on to be­come dean of stu­dents there, and its pre­si­dent in 1977.

In his "spare time", he founded in 1969 and pastored Church of the Way, event­u­al­ly growing to over 7,000 mem­bers. But above all, he sought to remind the youth and then his church members of the glory due to GOD ALONE, not to a man or to a church.

His song is one of the most enduring and beautiful of the modern Praise & Worship movement.

Majesty, worship his majesty;
Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise.
Majesty, kingdom authority,
Flow from his throne unto his own, his anthem raise.
So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus, the King.
Majesty, worship his majesty,
Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all kings.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Master the Tempest is Raging

In 1874, author Mary A. Baker wrote: "Dr. Palmer [noted musician] requested me to prepare several songs on the subject of the current Sunday-school les­sons. One of the themes was “Christ Stilling the Tempest.”

It so ex­pressed an ex­per­i­ence I had recent­ly passed through, that this hymn was the re­sult. A very dear and only bro­ther, a young man of rare love­li­ness and prom­ise of char­ac­ter, had been laid in the grave, a vic­tim of the same di­sease that had al­ready tak­en fa­ther and mo­ther. His death oc­curred un­der pe­cul­iarly dis­tress­ing cir­cum­stances. He was more than a thou­sand miles away from home, seek­ing in the balmy air of the sun­ny South the heal­ing that our cold­er cli­mate could not give. Sud­den­ly he grew worse. The writ­er was ill and could not go to him. For two weeks the long lines of tel­e­graph wires car­ried back and forth mes­sages be­tween the dy­ing brother and his wait­ing sisters, ere the word came which told us that our be­loved brother was no longer a dwell­er on the earth.

Al­though we mourned not as those with­out hope, and al­though I had be­lieved on Christ in ear­ly child­hood and had al­ways de­sired to give the Master a con­se­crat­ed and obed­i­ent life, I became wick­ed­ly re­bell­i­ous at this dis­pen­sa­tion of di­vine prov­i­dence. I said in my heart that God did not care for me or mine. But the Master’s own voice stilled the tem­pest in my un­sanc­ti­fied heart, and brought it to the calm of a deep­er faith and a more per­fect trust."

[When American president James Gar­field was as­sas­sin­at­ed in 1881, the hymn was sung at sev­er­al of the fun­er­al serv­ic­es held in his hon­or throug­hout the count­ry.]

Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threatening
A grave in the angry deep?

Refrain
The winds and the waves obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control.

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast;
Linger, O blessèd Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
While the words were written by a virtually unknown Urania Locke Stoughton Bailey in 1871, a story of its effects is shared by D.L. Moody's songleader, Ira Sankey:

"While we were hold­ing meet­ings in Bos­ton [Mass­a­chu­setts], in 1876, Mr. Moo­dy was en­ter­tained by one of the lead­ing law­yers of the ci­ty, who fre­quent­ly be­fore the meet­ings would ask what so­lo I had se­lect­ed. If I had none, he would say: “Please sing, ‘The mis­takes of my life have been ma­ny’; for one of the great­est mis­takes I have ev­er made was to ig­nore God in all my af­fairs. But at last he took away my only child, a be­loved son. That led me to the feet of Je­sus, and I bowed to kiss the hand that had laid the rod up­on me.

Then I told the Lord that I would de­vote my for­tune to his ser­vice. In keep­ing with that prom­ise I erect­ed a col­lege for young wo­men, lo­cat­ed at Well­es­ley Lake, near Bos­ton.”

Sadly, Wellesly College has now long-turned from its humble origin of a penitent benefactor.

The mistakes of my life have been many,
The sins of my heart have been more,
And I scarce can see for weeping,
But I’ll knock at the open door.

Refrain
I know I am weak and sinful,
It comes to me more and more;
But when the dear Savior shall bid me come in,
I’ll enter the open door.

I am lowest of those who love Him,
I am weakest of those who pray;
But I come as He has bidden,
And He will not say me nay.

My mistakes His free grace will cover,
My sins He will wash away,
And the feet that can shrink and falter
Shall walk thro’ the gates of day.

The mistakes of my life have been many,
And my spirit is sick with sin,
And I scarce can see for weeping,
But the Savior will let me in.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Charles C. Lu­ther heard his pastor tell the sto­ry of a young man who was about to die. He’d on­ly been a Christ­ian for a month, and was sad be­cause he’d had so lit­tle time to serve the Lord. He said, “I am not afraid to die; Je­sus saves me now. But must I go em­pty hand­ed?”

This in­ci­dent prompt­ed the writ­ing of the song; Steb­bins wrote the mu­sic when Lu­ther gave him the words.
“Must I go, and empty handed,”
Thus my dear Redeemer meet?
Not one day of service give Him,
Lay no trophy at His feet?

Refrain
“Must I go, and empty handed?”
Must I meet my Savior so?
Not one soul with which to greet Him,
Must I empty handed go?

Not at death I shrink or falter,
For my Savior saves me now;
But to meet Him empty handed,
Thought of that now clouds my brow.

O the years in sinning wasted,
Could I but recall them now,
I would give them to my Savior,
To His will I’d gladly bow.

O ye saints, arouse, be earnest,
Up and work while yet ’tis day;
Ere the night of death o’ertake thee,
Strived for souls while still you may.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Peace, Perfect Peace

Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr., was va­ca­tion­ing in Har­ro­gate, England, in 1875, where he heard a ser­mon on Isaiah 26:3. The min­is­ter re­lat­ed that the He­brew text used the word peace twice to in­di­cate ab­so­lute per­fect­ion. The idea was still on Bick­er­steth’s mind when he vis­it­ed a dy­ing rel­a­tive that af­ter­noon.

To soothe the man’s emo­tion­al tur­moil, Bick­er­steth opened his Bible to read from Isaiah 26:3. He wrote down these lyr­ics, just as they ap­pear today, and read them to the man: per­haps the last thing he heard before Jesus called him “to hea­ven’s per­fect peace.”

Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?
The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.

Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed?
To do the will of Jesus, this is rest.

Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round?
On Jesus’ bosom naught but calm is found.

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away?
In Jesus’ keeping we are safe, and they.

Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?
Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.

Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours?
Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.

It is enough: earth’s struggles soon shall cease,
And Jesus call us to Heaven’s perfect peace.
 

BornBaptist

<img src =/9147.jpg>
Originally posted by Dr. Bob:
Majesty

Jack Hayford grad­u­at­ed from L.I.F.E. Bi­ble Col­lege and Azu­sa Pa­ci­fic Un­i­ver­si­ty and began immediately as the na­tion­al youth di­rect­or of the In­ter­na­tion­al Church of the Four­square Gos­pel. In 1965, he joined the fa­cul­ty of L.I.F.E. Bi­ble Col­lege, and went on to be­come dean of stu­dents there, and its pre­si­dent in 1977.

In his "spare time", he founded in 1969 and pastored Church of the Way, event­u­al­ly growing to over 7,000 mem­bers. But above all, he sought to remind the youth and then his church members of the glory due to GOD ALONE, not to a man or to a church.

His song is one of the most enduring and beautiful of the modern Praise & Worship movement.

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Majesty, worship his majesty;
Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise.
Majesty, kingdom authority,
Flow from his throne unto his own, his anthem raise.
So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus, the King.
Majesty, worship his majesty,
Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all kings.
</font>[/QUOTE]Dr. Bob,

We used to sing that song, Alot! In the Assembly of God Church that I attended from age 14 to Age 23... I still hold that as song dear to my heart.

Because of who HE IS!

-BornBaptist
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
"RECEIVE, O LORD, OUR PRAYERS"

Ephraim of Edessa (303-373) (Qabbel, Mâran, bâ’ûth kullan) was a contemporary of St. Basil the Great and his brother St. Gregory. He was the hymnologist of the early church.

Ephraim was born early in the fourth century in the ancient city of Nisibis in Mesopotamia, where the Roman Empire bordered on the Persian Kingdom. To most of the world, this region was still known as "Syria" and for this reason St. Ephraim is known as "the Syrian."

He was born of Christian parents before the Edict of Milan was issued (313), establishing official toleration of religion, and, as he later wrote, his ancestors "confessed Christ before the judge; I am related to martyrs."

His prayers and hymns are still used in many churches, especially in the Lenten season, since they record his monastic life of self-sacrifice.

Receive, O Lord, in Heaven above
Our prayers and supplications pure;
Give us a heart all full of love
And steady courage to endure.

Thy holy Name our mouths confess,
Our tongues are harps to praise Thy grace;
Forgive our sins and wickedness,
Who in this vigil seek Thy face.

Let not our song become a sigh,
A wail of anguish and despair;
In lovingkindness, Lord most high,
Receive tonight our evening prayer.

O raise us in that day, that we
May sing, where all Thy saints adore,
Praise to Thy Father, and to Thee,
And to Thy Spirit, evermore.

(translated from the Syriac)
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Rock of Ages

In 1776, Au­gus­tus M. Top­la­dy was inspired to write these lyrics when he took shel­ter from a storm un­der a rocky over­hang near Eng­land’s Ched­dar Gorge; he re­port­ed­ly wrote the words on a play­ing card.

This hymn was sung at the fun­e­ral of William Glad­stone in West­min­ster Ab­bey, Lon­don, Eng­land. Prince Albert of Britain asked it be sung to him as he lay dy­ing. The hymn was al­so re­port­ed­ly sung at the fun­er­al of Amer­i­can Pre­si­dent Ben­ja­min Har­ri­son be­cause it was his fa­vo­rite hymn, and the on­ly one he ev­er tried to sing.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
[originally When my eye-strings break in death]
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
The Sands of Time Are Sinking

Born to a doctor on April 27, 1824, in Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, England, Anne married William Counsin and served as a Pastor's wife in the Free Church of Scotland. Her home was in Anwoth (Galloway) on the England/Scotland border and she refers to it in her poem. It is the portal city of England's megaliths - huge rock outcroppings and home to aviaries. Bishop Ussher passed away in the parsonage in Anwoth.

She wrote hundreds of poems, contributing many to periodicals and 7 published in hymnals of the Presbyterian Church. She died at age 84 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This is her favorite work, and our modern hymnals usually contain only a few verses. It is well worth the read, to sense her heart and her longing (at age 54) to see Heaven.
The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, sweet well of love!
The streams of earth I’ve tasted more deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

Oh! Well it is forever, Oh! well forevermore,
My nest hung in no forest of all this death doomed shore:
Yea, let the vain world vanish, as from the ship the strand,
While glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

There the Red Rose of Sharon unfolds its heartsome bloom
And fills the air of heaven with ravishing perfume:
Oh! To behold it blossom, while by its fragrance fanned
Where glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

The King there in His beauty, without a veil is seen:
It were a well spent journey, though seven deaths lay between:
The Lamb with His fair army, doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

Oft in yon sea beat prison My Lord and I held tryst,
For Anwoth was not heaven, and preaching was not Christ:
And aye, my murkiest storm cloud was by a rainbow spanned,
Caught from the glory dwelling in Immanuel’s land.

But that He built a Heaven of His surpassing love,
A little new Jerusalem, like to the one above,
“Lord take me over the water” hath been my loud demand,
Take me to my love’s own country, unto Immanuel’s land.

But flowers need nights cool darkness, the moonlight and the dew;
So Christ, from one who loved it, His shining oft withdrew:
And then, for cause of absence my troubled soul I scanned
But glory shadeless shineth in Immanuel’s land.

The little birds of Anwoth, I used to count them blessed,
Now, beside happier altars I go to build my nest:
Over these there broods no silence, no graves around them stand,
For glory, deathless, dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

Fair Anwoth by the Solway, to me thou still art dear,
Even from the verge of heaven, I drop for thee a tear.
Oh! If one soul from Anwoth meet me at God’s right hand,
My heaven will be two heavens, In Immanuel’s land.

I’ve wrestled on towards Heaven, against storm and wind and tide,
Now, like a weary traveler that leaneth on his guide,
Amid the shades of evening, while sinks life’s lingering sand,
I hail the glory dawning from Immanuel’s land.

Deep waters crossed life’s pathway, the hedge of thorns was sharp;
Now, these lie all behind me Oh! for a well tuned harp!
Oh! To join hallelujah with yon triumphant band,
Who sing where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

With mercy and with judgment my web of time He wove,
And aye, the dews of sorrow were lustered with His love;
I’ll bless the hand that guided, I’ll bless the heart that planned
When throned where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

Soon shall the cup of glory wash down earth’s bitterest woes,
Soon shall the desert briar break into Eden’s rose;
The curse shall change to blessing the name on earth that’s banned
Be graven on the white stone in Immanuel’s land.

O I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved’s mine!
He brings a poor vile sinner into His “house of wine.”
I stand upon His merit—I know no other stand,
Not even where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

I shall sleep sound in Jesus, filled with His likeness rise,
To love and to adore Him, to see Him with these eyes:
’Tween me and resurrection but Paradise doth stand;
Then—then for glory dwelling in Immanuel’s land.

The Bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth but on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.

I have borne scorn and hatred, I have borne wrong and shame,
Earth’s proud ones have reproached me for Christ’s thrice blessed Name:
Where God His seal set fairest they’ve stamped the foulest brand,
But judgment shines like noonday in Immanuel’s land.

They’ve summoned me before them, but there I may not come,
My Lord says “Come up hither,” My Lord says “Welcome home!”
My King, at His white throne, my presence doth command
Where glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
 
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